The three Bondurant brothers run a bootlegging operation during the
depression, up in the mountains of Franklin County, Virginia. Crooked
Special Deputy Charles Rakes is after a share of the brothers' profits.
Compounding their troubles, the local competition is elbowing in on
their activities. Forrest's boisterous defiance and Cricket's knack for
moonshine production help the brothers gain a local monopoly. When
Forrest is wounded as tension with Rakes escalates, Jack, initially the
timid one, must prove his worth against gangster Floyd Banner's mob, and
we see him metamorphose into a cocky exhibitionist in his attempts to
woo the off-limits preacher's daughter, Bertha.
